They wanted to come out in 2012 and prove they are a much better team,
and that's exactly what they've done. Especially on defense.

"We had to be the heart of the team this year," linebacker Tyler
Wigington said. "Almost all of our starters came back. We just couldn't
have a let down like we had last season."

"They set a plan for us and we pretty much execute it every time,"
defense end Issac Garza said. "Practice makes perfect, like they say. We
just hit it hard in practice and it pays off on Fridays."

The Steers shutout Fort Stockton 49-0 in week zero, and then shocked
west Texas by shutting down defending TAPPS 4A state champion Midland
Christian with a 17-12 final.

"We talked about it all week and really focused on before the game that
Midland Christian was the kind of team where we don't just need to come
out and compete against, we also need to come out and start winning
games against teams like that," head coach Phillip Ritchey said.

Midland Christian quarterback Mason McClendon had a field day through
the air last year against the Steers, but was only nine for 24 for 138
yards on Friday.

"We focused a lot on shutting down Whigam," Wigington said. "Last year
we held them to under 100 yards rushing, but they set a passing record
on us, so we paid attention to hitting the quarterback a few times and
really rushing him."

The Steers believe they can keep this going throughout the year, because they trust one another more this season.

"We're really close and good friends," Garza said. "That trust is there,
it has to be. I would say it's a little more than it was last year."

"We've got a lot of good games ahead of us; tough games," Ritchey said.
"Midland Christian was a tough game. I wasn't saying we're going to go
out and win every game, we would just like to be 10-0. After an 0-10
season, that would be quite the story."